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THE TEACHINGS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

S. Remadevi “Impact of Swami Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi to the cultural and political scenario of pre and post independent India ” Thesis. Department of Philosophy , Sree Kerala Varma College Thrissur, University of Calicut, 1999

CHAPTER - I1

"So I preach only the Upanishads. I f you

look, you will find that I have never quoted

anything but the Upanishads. And of the

Upanishads, it is only that one idea

strength the quintessence of vedas and

Vedanta and all, lies in that one word."

Swami Vivekananda

THE TEACHINGS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

Swami Vivekananda though he was not a politician or

a social worker, was the hero of the twentieth century India. He

was a spiritual leader whose sharp intellect touched almost all

aspects of the universe. His love for the motherland made him

think about the welfare of his country and countrymen. So he

studied the problems of India and tried hard to see his country

men overcome these problems.

a) The neglect of the masses

4 . The swami during his tour all over India noticed the

pitiable state of the common masses. The thing which pained him 4

very much was the condition of the Indian poor people. To save

them from,this become his first and foremost duty. He understood

that there is no need of preaching religion to the people. Instead, 4

what they needed was bread to sutain life. These poor people of

India, and their poverty compelled him to go the wealthy west.

The suffering of the common people of India was unberable to him.

He reminded his Madras audience of this fact, on his return from

the West, " I did not go to America, as most of you know for the

Parliament of Religions, but this demon of a feeling was in me and

within my soul. I travelled twelve years all over India, finding no

way to work for my countrymen, and that is why I went to America

; most of you know that who know me then. Who cared about the

parliament of Religions? Here was m31 own flesh and blood sinking

everyday, and who cared for them? This was my first step"'.

To Vivekananda the neglect of the masses is the great

"national sin" and one of the main reasons for the downfall of

India. He was very much worried about the toiling masses of the

country. He Says "The poor, the low the sinner in India have no

friends no help"2. He points out that, "The poor of India worked

hard without any murmur for a long time, suffering all

suppression for thousands of years. They have suffered eternal

misery, which has given them inflicting vitality"2.

Even though the peasants of India working silently,

without proper remuneration they have got the wonderful strength

tha tcomespf a pure and moral life, it is not to be found anywhere

else in the world. He says that with a halfibread they could shake

the very world. He compares the peasants of India with those of

other countries. He says, that comparatively the Indian masses

are silent, peaceful, loving and when compared with others the

Indian masses are "Gods" and "Angles", because they maintained

their balance inspite of provocation.

When he went; into the depth of the problem, he

understood that the country is rich in natural resources, while the

people are poor.

b. Priest - hood and caste system

When analysed, Vivekananda kno'w tha t , the main

cause of the problem in India is the Priest - power. The Hindu

society had lost its vitality and was divided into many classes; one

exploiting the other. There were some rich and powerful upper

classes, who enjoyed all the goodness of life where a s the lower t

classes remained in misery. The caste became determined by

birth, not by vitrue. This brought a degradation to the whole

system. He points out, "priest - craft in its nature, is cruel and

heartless, religion goes u p the idea of privilege, then will religion

come. Before that there is no religion a t all"3. Again, he criticises

the in-human nature of the upper class , saying that there is no

love in their+hearts and they have no hope for manliness.

He criticises that the upper class intellectials are

interested in unnecessary discussion on food and food habits,

touchability etc., with their head loaded with superstitions.

The main wicked practice of the caste system was the

untouchability; the lower classes were considered as

untouchables. The Swami depicts the picture clearly. He says "To

what ludicrous state are we brought ! If a Bhangi comes to any

body as Bhangi he would be shunned a s the plague, but no sooner

does he get a cupful of water poured upon his head with some

mutterings of prayers by a Padiri and get a coat on his back, no

matter how the thread - bear come into the rooms of the most

orthodox Hindu. I do not see that man who then there refuse him

a chair and a hearty shake of hands ! Irony can go no furthern-'.

13 c ) Monpoly of Education

He found that in the ancient land of the Vedas,

knowledge and wisdom, the majority of people are now illiterate

and kept away from the systems of education. Only the selected

classes could be able to acquire knowledge. The rest where kept

in darkness. He assumes. "The chief cause of Indian's ruin had

been the m ~ $ ~ o l i s i n ~ of the whole education and intelligence of A

the land, by dint of pride and royal authority among a handful of

men"5.

The Swamiji compares this condition with the state of

the West, where all are well educated and free, and are capable of

finding their own livelihood and better living standards. He says,

"The whole difference between the west and east is in this ; they

are nations, we are not, in civilization, education here is general, it

penetrates into the masses. The higher classes in India and

America are the same but the distance is infinite between the

lower das ses of the two countries. Why was it so easy for the

English to conquor India? It uras because they are nation; we are

no t"6.

d. People were not aware of their potentialities

The Swami points out another reason for the

degradation of Indians a s the lack of awareness about their own

true nature and capacities. The Indians are not ready to think

freely and work freely. They have lost their thinking capacity. He

says "they believe what others say. For centuries people have

been taught thetries of degradation. They have been told that

they are nothing. The masses have been told all over the world,

that they are not human beings. They have been so frightened for

centuries, till they have nearly become animals. Never were they

allowed to hear of the AtmanV7.

(e) Not Ready to Work

The Swamiji points out our general attitude. He says

"We would do nothing ourselves and would scoff a t others who

tried to do something. This is the bane that has brought about

our down fall as a Nation. Want of sympathy and lack of energy

are a t the root of all misery and you must therefore give these two

up, who but the Lord knows what potentialities there respectively

in particular individuals. Let all have opportunities and leave the

rest to the Lord. It is indeed very difficult to have a n equal love for

all. But without it there is no MukthiPJ8.

f) Exclusiveness

According to the Swamiji one main reason for the

downfall of India is the isolation from others. Years of foreign rule

and mis-interpretation of the older view caused for this. He says "

One of the great causes of India's misery and downfall has been

that she narrowed herself, went into her shell a s the Oyaster does,

and refused to give her jewels and her treasures to the other races

of mankind, refused to give the life - giving truth to thristing

nations outside the Aryan fold. That has been one great cause ;

that we did not go out, that we did not compare notes with other

nationsn9.

He continues "No man, no nation, my son, can hate

others and live ; India's doom was sealed the very day they :.

invented the word "Mlecha" and stopped from the communion with

others2'10. When one hates others, that indicated his own

degradation, not others.

(g) Lack of organisation

The experience in the West helped the Swami to know

about the benefits of a n organisation and he felt the need for such

faculty in India. The first requisites for organisation are obedience

and readyness to work Swamiji found that the Indians are not

ready to obey others. Here there is no love. Moreover the Indians

are lazy; are not ready to work hard.

(h) Neglect of women

According to the Swamiji, another reason for India's

downfall is the neglect towards women. This is a serious problem.

As he points out that "in India there are two great evils" Trampling

on the women, and grinding the poor through caste restrictions

are those. Indian woman hood is the symbol of strength, "Sakti".

Only he who knows God as the Omni present force in the Universe

and sees in woman the manifestation of that force would be the

real worshipper of Sakti.

i. Cultural Westernisation

The political domination of the west over India, caused

for the ruin of the glorious culture of India. The Indians tried to

imitate the west in all aspects of life. Indian youths, imitate the

west in walk and talk, especially among the educated ones. The

educated youths of India instead of being interested in the work

and welfare of the country seemed to have been proud of their

Western Education and viewed the things which are of western

origin a s superior to that of Indians.

He found that India - the Mother of all riches turned

into the principal market of England by the Vaisya genius of the

English enhanced by Science. A s a result, the country became

more and more poor. This was followed by the intellectual slavery.

Everything from the West was viewed upon with great affection

and admiration. The Indians simply imitated the West and

discarded the Indian ideals and culture. They dressed like the

English, behaved like the English, and spoke a s the English and

were ashamed of their nationality and kinship with the ignorance,

poor, illiterate, down - trodden masses of India.

Seeing this degradation he cried out "0 India's with

this more echoing of others, with this base imitation of others,

with this dependence on others, this slavish weakness, this vile,

detestable cruelty wouldst thou, with these provisions only scale

38

the highest pinnacle of civilization and greatness? Wouldst thou

attain, by means of the disgraceful cowardice, that freedom

deserved only by the brave and the heroic! India'. Forgot not that

the ideal of'-the womanhood is Sita, Savitri, Damanti forget not

that the God they worshipped is the great Ascetic of ascetics, the

all renouncing sankara"' l .

About the foolishness of imitating west he says "0

India this is your terrible danger. The spel of imitating the west is

getting such a strong hold up on you that what is good or what is

bad is no longer decided by reason, judgement, discrimination, or

refere~ce to the Sastras. What ever ideas, what manners, the

Whiteman praise or like are good, whatever things they dislike or

censure are bad. Alas what can be more tangible proof of

foolishness than thisn12.

1. Practical Vedanta

Swami Vivekananda was known as an eminent expounder of

Vedanta Principles. He preached the philosophy of Vedanta, as

one based strictly on an intellectual basis and thereby highly

acceptable to all. He prescribes the practice of vedanta a s the

remedy for all the ills of India.

A s he points out India is a land of various religions,

various ideas and various ceremonial forms. The term Hindu

stands for the sum total of all these various sects; the only point

where all these sects agree- is on our four Vedas. The term Veda

i originated from the root vid - to know, contains all the knowledge.

Veda is divided into two parts; the Karma Kanda and the

Njanakanda. The karma kanda includes as account of various

sacrifices and ceremonials, and rijanakanda contains spiritual

teachings. The end portion of veda containing the spiritual

knowledge is the Vedanta or Upanishads.

The Upgnishads reveal the true nature of Atman.

Apart from the theology, the literature of Upanishads is highly

attractive. About the Atman it says, "The stars, the flash of

lighterning can not illurnine the place, what to speak of this mortal

fire"l3.

Vivekananda point out that when one realises his true

nature, his Atman, becomes fearless, fully satisfied and strong. He

says, "Strength, strength is what the Upanishads speak to me for

every page. It is the only literature in the world where you find the

word 'Abhih' - fearless used again and again"14. He considered the

Upanishads as the great mines of strength.

Weakness is the cause of all miseries and strength is

the freedom from all types of weaknesses. The Upanishads speak

about this freedom. All kinds of freedom are the watch - words of

Upanishads; physical freedom, mental freedom and spiritual

freedom. So freedom is strength and bindage is weakness.

He points out that this freedom is the very basis of

morality. So weakness is immoral. The laziness selfishness,

hatred are all immoral. Because lack of strength is the reason for

all these. So man's first duty is to be moral. For this one has to

avoid weakness. First of all try to avoid physical weakness. One

can not do study great things without strength.

He gives importance to the belief in the self He says

"The only ism that we require now is this wonderful idea of the

soul - its eternal right, its eternal strength, its eternal purity and

its eternal perfection.". "Thou ar t the Pure One"'? One who

believes that he is weak becomes weak. One who believes in his

orn strength becomes strong.

Universality of the ideals is one main feature of

Upanishadic teachings. Vedanta is applicable to all man and

woman, irrespective of one's place of living, occupation, financial

status, caste or position. All are equally divine and heirs for these

ideas.

Another great idea that Vivekananda wanted to

. communicate is that concept of service. Man is to be served as the 4.

lord. He says " You cannot help any one, you can only serve; serve

the children of Lord if you have the privilegen16. He advises to look

upon every man, woman and every one as Gods. Doing service to

humanity means doing the worship of the Lord himself. So th'e

poor, miserable are all the different forms of the Lord himself, and

be served.

- - Thus we can see that the ideas of Swami Vivekananda

are clear, highly simple and practical. This simplicity and

practicalicity distinguisher the teachings of Swami Vivekananda

from other teachers of Vedanta., His theory was applicable to all

planes of human life and activity.

2. Patriotism

The swamiji points out that liberty or freedom is the

prime need for all kinds of developments in the case of individual;

Like that the development of the country is based on its political

freedom. A dependent or a country under the rule of any other, is

incapable of development or growth. So political freedom is a

must in the case of a country to be prosperous and self -

supporting. Though Swami Vivekananda was not a political leader

he knew this very well and felt the need of his country becoming

free and independent. Even though he was a renounced person he

-L

had a mind full of love and pride about his nationality. He n-as a

lover of mother land and he always adorned his land as the Divine

Mother. To him the very soil of this country was a Thirtha. He

had the affection of a baby towards his beloved mother India.

Sister, Niveditha points out this, "He was a born lover, and the

queen of his adoration was his Mother Land"l7.

He being a soul - worshipper tried to awaken ;he

innate force of sleeping soul. He was confident about the

undefeatable strength of the human soul. When these individual

souls unite limitless power would be the result. So he viewed this

as the Virat (ever - powerful) - working through his many hands,

walking by the numberless legs, seeing through a thousand el-es.

The Swamiji advised his country men to leave all other

personal ends and try hard to free the motherland and to worship

the motherland. He said "for the next fifty years this alone shall

be our key-note-this our great Mother India. Let all other vain gods

disappear for that time from our mind. This is the only God that

is awake, our own race"l8.

So he demanded hard work from his fellowman to free

India and place her in her original glorious stage. He says "Arise

and Awake and see her seated her on hr eternal throne,

rejuvenated, more glorious then she ever was this motherland of

ours1? He know that the glory of this land could be established

only by the sacrifices of his countryman. He says "Arise, Awake,

for your country needs this tremendous sacrifice. I t is the youth

men that will do it." He continues "the young, the energetic, the .

strong, the well - built, the itelle~tual"~0. Thus he tried o convey

the burning love for his country. He wanted Men having strong

will, and strong muscles to undertake the work of the country. So

he told his countrymen to become Abhih - fearless and "Arise,

Awake and stop not till the goal is reached7'21. These words

echoed in the minds of the Indian youth which inspired them to

work restlessly for the upliftment of the country. He said "This

national ship, my countrymen, my friends, my children - this

nationalship has been ferrying millions and millions of souls

across the waters of life. For scores of shining centuries it has

been plying across this water, and through its agency, millions of

souls have been taken to the other shore . . . ................. . I f there are

holes in this nationalship this society of ours, we are its children.

Let u s go and stop the holes, let u s gladly to do it with our heart's

blood; and if we cannot, then let u s die"22.

He felt pride in everything that is Indian. He said

"Thou, too clad with but a rag round the loins, proudly proclaim a t -..

<j_

- the top of the voice; the Indian is my brother, the Indian is my life,

India's Gods and Godesses are my God, India's society is the

cradle of my infancy, the pleasure - garden of my youth, the

sacred heaven the Varanasi of my old age. Say, brother; the soil of

India is my highest heaven, the good of India is my good"23.

3. On Indian Culture

According to Swami Vivekananda, "if there is any land

on this earth that can claim to be the blessed Punya -

Bhumi ............ the land where humanity has attained its highest

towards gentleness, towards generosity, towards purity, towards

calmness, above all the kind of introspection and of spiritualitj- - it

is India"24. The Indians never believed in political greatness or

military power. That is, although the race had acquired immense

wealth the nation never stood for wealth. This nation was not

interested in conquering others either for political supremacy or

for wealth. The nation remained quite content with its own

l~ot~licli~t-ic.s ; I I I ~ never- tried to right with oll~crs. B(:causc wcallh or

powcr were not the ideals of the nation."

Swami Vivekananda says that India is a land of

unbroken tradition for centuries. India is the only land which

sustained its vitality and vigour even after a long period of

I I I l o r . I r ~ t l i ; ~ r ~ s ;lrc: I h(. rnosl ;tr~c-ic:t~l r;tc:c: of ~ I ( Y ) I ) I ( - w l ~ o

o \ \ f ~ ~ c . t l ; I t : I o ~ . i o t ~ s 1 ~ 1 s l . 'I'I1t- i ~ ~ ~ c - i c ~ ~ r l ~ . i ~ c * c . s st1c.11 ; I S t l l c . ( ; ~ . r . c . l < s ,

Romans etc., are no more now. They all lost their glory within a

certain duration. But the Indians are still a living race, without

total dcstruction evcn though there are degradations.

Another feature of the Indian culture, according to

him is its civilization. He says "One thing wc may note, that

~vhcrcas you will find that good and grcatmen of othcr countics

like pride in tracing back their descent to some robber - bar0 who

lived in a mor~ntnin fortress and emerged from time to time to

plunder passing way farers, We Hindus, on the other hand, take

pr-ide in being the descendants of Rishis and sages who lived in

~.oots ; I I I ~ h-uits i l l tnol~ntail~s ;lncI C';IV('S rnc-dil;\ti~lg 0 1 1 t11( .

Supreme"25. When all other lands on earth were not established,

life prevailed in India. So Indian is the ancient culture; a race of

well civilized people.

India is the land of happiness and rcnunciation. Thc

great ancestors of India, the Rishis revealed that 'Not by progeny,

not by wealth by renunciation alone immartality is reached'. The

Indian culture never believed in taking or accumulation. I t

teaches only to renounce ta give up, The Itldians rccogt~iaed that

all the worldly pleasures such as wealth, power etc., arc all mortal

and immortality cannot be reached through these material

pleasures. So they over - powered all the miseries and pleasures

of this world. They were only interested in supreme happiness, I

through renunciation ; the eternal joy. i I i

I To Vivekananda India is the land o f splrlril:~lltv. ,

Spirituality is the back-bone of Indian culture. This is the land

where the supreme soul - the spirit is worshipped.

According to him, the greater superiority of Indian

culture is that, it never mentioned about a personal God. Here the

ideal is the Supreme Spirit - the Omnipotent, Omni present,

c:xistc:ncc in thc world. All others arc of no cxistc.n<.c.. Its o11Iy t l ~ c l

spirit one with beginning, without end, without dcvcl0pmcnt or

decay.

To him India is a land of Aryan Civilization, where the

ideal of manhood is Brahminhood - the height of spiritual and

moral development. By the Brahmin ideal he says "I mean the

ideal Brahminness in which worldliness is altogether absent and

.true wisdom is abundantly present. That is the ideal of' hc Hindu

race"z6. India is the only country where the one whole race is

dedicated for the search of the spirit, the true wisdom. The dream

of all Indians is to become the Brahmnna - the one who knows

Brahma.

4. On India's Contribution to the World

- lie pointed out that the dept which the tvol-lci o w c s to

In(li;l is imrnctnsc. In thc case of rcligiot~, In t l i ;~n is the. c ' i l t - l i ( ' ~ - . 111

l h(. <.:IS(. o f sc-ic*nc.(* i ~ n ~ l tcchnolo~y cliiot ir~g sit- Willi;~tn I l11111('1- 11t-

say's she has even contributed to modern medical science by the

discovery of various chemicals and by teaching you how to reform

is happened ears and noses. Even more, it has nose in

Mathematics, of Algebra, Geometry, Astronomy and the triumph

for modern scicncc thc mixed Mathcmritics - wt~cr-c it11 i~~vc . r i t i*c l it1

India, just so much as the ten numeral, the very corn& store all

threatened civilization were discovered in India, and arc in reality,

~ a n s k r i i ~ o r d s " 2 ~ .

and Music, Literature, legend etc., in manufiact~ire India was the

first to make cotton, and purple (dye) it was proficient in all works

of jewellery and in the production of materials like sugar. India

invented games of Chess, the Cards and the dicen2x.

5. On Religion

India is the only blessed land where the foundation,

the back - bone, the life - centre is Religion; whereas all other

nations of the Earth have their ways politics, wealth and Tntde ctc. l

I

l

The Indian religion is not bothered about the acquisition of i

political power, wealth or any other thing in the universe. I t only '

cares for spirituality. It is the reason for the survival of India,

inspite of a thousand years of foreign rule and foreign oppression.

There were powerful and prominent countries like Rome, Greece,

Spain etc., but they all disappeared and new one are formed. Only

India stands still without distraction because the validity of India

1i;rs not I)c.c.n t or~c-11c:tl .

tle did not blame religion for the problems 01' India.

In India what he wanted was the practical application of religious

principles. He knew very well that, the political or social reforrns

in India are possible only through the uplifitment of religion.

Every improvement in India requires first of all a n upheaval in

religion. He believed that in India the political or socialistic ideas

rare applied only through religious progress.

6. On caste

Actually the caste is a social system and was meant

for the good and smooth functioning of a vital society. As Lord

Krishna says in "Bhagavat Gita" it is a scientific system for the

division of labour . There were four castes or V a r n a s strictly

according to the ability and aptitude, namely the Brahmana,

Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra. The Brahmanas are the Scholars,

~shy t r i iyas - the Warriors, Vaisyas - the Merchants and the

Sudras - the Workers or Peasents.

Vivekananda points out that the caste was determined

not by birth but by quality or ability. There were chances for the

lower classes to be elevated to a higher accordign to the power of

learning or valour. A number of examples can be sighted to prove

this. Vasista, Narada, Sathya f'qama - Jabala, Vyasa etc., of

questionable pm,,entage were raised to the position of Brahmana

or Kshatriya in viture of their superior learning or valour. On the

other hand the fallen from the Brahamana or Vaisya class were

brought down to fil l their rights of Sudras.

5 0

1

Eventhough he discarded the caste system prevailed

t h(:n saying " i t narrows ancl rcstricts, ancl s~.pi~l.;~tt. I Ii(- 11oI)Io I~oncl

of hurnanity"zc). Vivekananda believed that caste is a must in a

growing st)c-icty. Thc hasic aim of Indian systcn~ w:ls s p i ~ - i t i ~ ; ~ l ,

i.e., to accelerate the progress of the individual towards his goal of

spirit. This was a certain type of classification which allows

maximum freedom for the individual to grow according to his wil l .

In this system there is the whole freedom to choose the path. 'The

Sanskrit word J ati means species. The individual is a member of

society. By virtue of his qualification and attitude to has certaii~ I 1

r

obligation to the society which is to be fulfilled, and it is his duty. \ .-

I'

By performing this duty, he could reach the spirit.

The principle of harmony of trade and labour is

needed by the society. In that view there is no question of

Vedas. In such a caste system the individual gets opportunity to

cxpress his tnlrnts for the well 13~ing of 1 1 1 ~ wliol(- sot*ii*l \~. klilti 01.

Vichitrata is the first ideas of creation. Unity is I~cforc crc;ttion,

diversity is creation. When the diversity stops, crc:\tion gets

destroyed. So original idea of Jati was this freedom of the

individyal to express his Nature, his Prakriti, his Jati, his caste.

Our scriptures agrcc with the system of castc anti c.vcht~ 111~. I i i t c ' s l

I l

text contain no restriction for inter caste marriage or in!cr - caste

dining. l-fe points out quoting Githa "with the extinction o f caste

the world will be destroyedn30.

He was aware of the super brain work behind the

caste system of India. He was positive in his view, and so did not

hr:licvc: in the dcstruction o f cnsc systc.ni. I lc* \if:ls highl~r

constructive. In India he never wanted to crush down the caste

system even though it is defective. He did not want to abolish the

classes what he wanted was the upliftment of the lower classes to 1

he highest. So he says "the plan in India is to make everybody ;\ 1

Brahmin;. for Brahmin be thc ideal of humanity i l l Iridiil ;ittc.rnl~ts

were always done, to raise the lower classes to higher one. India

never though about bringing down the highest one to thc lo\ircst

that is the production of universe of

7. On Education

Ac.c.or-clilig 10 I V ~ V I I I ~ I I I I t l l c . ~ ~ ~ I I ~ ~ ) o s ~ ~ 01'

ccluci~tion is man - making. The aim of :ill training should bc

Illis, I . (* . , (~(Iit(~i1tio11 slioitlcl t i ( a i 1 ) it~i: tn:lti 10 l ) ( * M ( ~ I I . l l ( . si1y5 " ' l ' t ~ ( .

ideal of all educat io~~, all training, should l ~ c this man making.

But instead of that we are always trying to polish ~p the outside.

What use in polishing u p the outside, when there is no inside?

Tllc cild and aim of all training is to make thc man grow, thc man

who influences, throws his magic, as it were upon his fellow being,

is a dynamo of power and when that man is ready, he can do any

thing and everything he like that personality put upon anything

will make it work."3? S L I C ~ a n education only make man strong

i \ 1 1 ( ! l l l i \ l l ! . ~ . 1 1 1 l ! ~ i \ l ( ' ; \ S C I \ I ( \ ~ ~ i \ ~ i ~ ' i l t i O l l ill(' \ \ r i l \ ' 1 0 ~ ~ ~ 1 ~ ~ 1 ~ ~ 111s

manleness, his perfection, his true nature. Because truth only

strengthens. Therefore education should the search for truth, by

the realization of which one gets strong and manly. So he says ,

"llcre is the test of truth, anything that makes jrou \i,eak

physically, intellectually and spiritually neglect as poison. There - l

is no life in it, it cannot be true. Truth is strengthening. Truth is

purity. Truth is all knowledge; Truth must be strengthening, must

be enlightening must be invigoratil1g"3~.

. He differentiate education from the mere collection of

data, which is a meskanicnl process, I-lc says "Ed~lcatinn ia not

the amount of information that is put into your brair-r and runs

riot thcrc, undigcsted all your life. We must h a v e . life building,

man - making, character - making assimilation of ideas. I f

you have assimilated five ideas and made them your life and

character, you have more education than any man who has got by

heart a whole l ib ra r~"3~.

Thcre fore true education is the Training by which the

conduct and expression of Will are brought under control. H c says

"By which character is formed, strength of mind is incrc:~sc-d, the

intellect is expanded and by which one can stand on one's feet"?".

So the education should be self supporting and strengthening the

mind and health controlling the mind. The very essence of

education is concentration of mind not the collection of facts.

He says "One who has not experienced the art of concentration of

mind can gain no knowledge; greater the concentration of the

mind, greater will be his knowledge., will o111y prevent their growth , , I

and spoil them. Some parents constantly compel their sons to I

read and write, telling them that they will never learn anything

and called them fools. This will not produce any positive result,

what happens in actual practice is that their children gets spoiled

and remain as fools. I t is a fact that if you speak kind words to

them and encourage them, they are bound to improve in time. I f

you can give positive idea people will grow to be men and a learn

l 0 sI:11 KI 0 1 1 tI1c.11. I ~ . ~ s ' ' . ~ ' ! ~

Each child is potentially divine, and to bc' helpcd to

grow ; I ( . C X ) I - C ~ I I I ~ 1 0 l ~ i s owl) I ILI~L~IX*; 10 I I I : I I I I ~ ~ ~ S ~ I I I<- ( I IV I I I I IJ~ 1 1 1 I I I I I I .

Then education is the manifestation of divinity in him and the only

rcquisitc for eclucation is purity of mind a r i c l ; I t - c ~ ~ l r l i i t - s r l i ) r

kllowlcdgc.

If education is the manifestation o f divinity it also is

the aim of Vedanta. Man is essentially the soul, which is pure

consciousness, absolute knowledge and eternal perfection. So

education is the self discovery - discovery of the true self. Thus

the education according to him is the "manifcstatio~i of pc.1-fc-ction

ulrcady in man":"). "Then knowledge is inhcrcnt in man; no

knowledge comes from outside; it is all inside. What we say a man

knows should, in strict psychological language, be what he \

discovers or unveils what a man learns is really what he i -

discovers, by taking the cover of his own soul, which is a minc of

infinite knowledge"". He says again "this is the one call, the one

knock, which opens the gate of nature, and lets out floods of light;

this the power of concentration is the only key to the treasure

house of knowledge9'38.

To develop the power of concentration o f mind

I ~ l ~ i l I l l l ~ i l ~ ~ I l i ~ l ~ ~ ~ l ( C ' C : ~ C ~ > ~ I C ~ ' ) IS ~ ~ S ~ ~ l l ~ l i l I . ~ ! l i l ~ l l ~ . y 1 1 1 ~ ~ ~ l O l l ~ ~ l ~ , \VOI'(!

and deed is Brahmacharya. A student who adopts celebacy is a

Brahmacharin. By the oservance of strict Brahmacharya all

learning can be mastered in a very short time. Commenting on

Pathanjali's Yogasutras he observes "the chaste brain has

55

tremendous energy and gigantic will power. Wilho~~t cl~;rstity

there can be no spiritual strength, continence gives wonclcrf~il

control ovc3r rnai~kintl. Tho spiritt~:~l Irrldcrs ol' m;lli t i ; ~ v c . I)c-c.n \ ~ ( . r - \ .

co~ltitlcnt, and this is what gave them

Thus education is self - learning. He says and "no one

was ever really taught by another ; each of us has to teach him

self. The external teacher offers only the suggestion wl~ich r-ouscs

, . I 1 c i 1 1 1 I o W O c c ~ ~ ~ i s i ~ i i i Ili~iigs. I I ~ c ~ I I 11i11igs

will be made clearer to us by our own power of perfection and ,

thought and we shall realise them in our3 own soulsn4(). He says 'b

agcirn, "yot.~ (:annot tcach a child anymo~-c t11i\11 you vi111 gr-onf I

plant. You can only help. You can only take arila\;

obstrauctions"4~. So the extra effort done by the parents to teach

their child is in vain.

For this discovery or self realization body and mind

are instruments. This indicates the importance of keeping the

l )o( ly S ~ I . O I I J ; ; I ~ O I I J ; wit11 I I I ( * S I I - O I I J ! 1 1 1 i t i ( I . A S I t o ~ i j : I ) o ( l \ * ; 1 1 1 ( 1 . I

s~tys , "you will Ijc ilcarcr- lo hcavc~l llirougt~ Ilic sl iltly 0 1 I t ] ( : (;ilc~.

These are bold words. But 1 have to say them for I love you. I

know where the shoe pinches. I have gained little expcricncc. You

will un~lci-sl;ii~tl <;ili~ Ixtlcr thicn will1 yocrr- I ) l c x . l ) s , j1oui. 11~1sc.1t.s ; I

5 6

l i t 1 lc slrongcr. You will undcrst;intl thc mighty gc:nii~s ;ant1 t I)(,

mighty strength of Krishna better with a little of strong hloocl in

you. You will understand the Upanishads better and the glory of

the Atman, when your body stands firm upon your feet, and you

f~:c.l yoir rsc.lvc:s ; IS tnc:rln'1~.

Thus we can see that the education is a harmonious

process of body and mind. Besides these two his intellect, 111s

personality and behaviour are also to bc considcrc~cl I>cc.:lc~sc man

is thc itilcgr:~l of those all. Thus hc p ~ r t s i t "lho pc.rson:~li!y of m;ln ,

is two - thirds and his intellect, his'words, arc I ~ u t onc t l~i rd"-~.~. I t \, l

is the hat-monious growth of the real man, the personality of the

man including the intellect, that should be the objective of

education. The finer feeling and emotion should not remain under

development. The true man is he, who is strong as strength itself

and yet possess a woman's heart"".

8. Status of Woman

OII ( ' of I l l c ' 1 1 1 o : ; I 1 , 1 ( ' ( 1 0 1 1 : , 1 ( ' ; 1 ( 1 1 1 ( ' 0 1 I l l l l l . l l l t l l l l l l l l . l ' ,

tlial, 11s cotlccpl towards womanhood. Accordl~ig to 11111l Ilic ~dcitl

of Indian Womanhood "is Sita, Savitri and Damitv:~ndi"'~. 111

Inrlia wolncn are considered as motllcrs. I lc poillts 0111 "'1'11~ I ~ ! ( * ~ I I

of womanhood in India is motherhood - that marvellous,

unselfish, all suffering, ever forgiving mother. Herc woman is the

embojdment of Divine lnother"'"6. Jn west woman is wife where as

hcrc shc is the mothcr. To Indians she is visciblc nlnniSestiltiol~ of

( ;o t l .

Swami Vivekananda was a supporter of importing

modern education to girls along with boys. Ilc gave special

import.ance to the education of girls. Pointing out the examples

from Vcdic agcs hc argues tllat women should Ilu I rt:;~!(:cl ; I S cc/ll;ll

to men. l

I

problcms ol'wonlen. l-ie says "give the women education ; they will

solve their own problems. They have all the time been trained in

helplessness, servile dependence on others, and so they are good

only to weep their eyes out a t the slightest approach of mishap or

danger. ' Along with other thing they should accluirc the: spirit of

valour a n d heroism. In the present day il has bccomc ncccssary

for thcrn ~11so to Icarn self - defencend7.

He was of opinion that the women should be taught,

subjects like history, the Puranns, house keeping idrntities o f

house life, arts, and modern sciences. So that the they would be

;rl)lc t o I~ccamc idt:;~l noth hers. I-le gave itnpol-tirr~c.c: 10 : I I - I I S I ~ ( .

working sewing painting, photography etc.

In his o.pinion women should be trained to render

humanitarian services. That is the training of heart along with the

training of hands. Woman are to be trained to sacrifice their own

lives for the benefit of I~umanity.

REFERENCES

1 . The complete works of Swami Vivekananda Arlv;lrl;r Ashrrtm;~

Mayavati, Vol. 111 p. 225 - 226.

2. Letters of Swami Vivekananda, Advanta Ashrama May 1976, p.

40.

3. The complctc works of Swami Vivekana~~c l ;~ Advart :I A s h r ~ ~ r n ; ~

Mayathi Vol. I p. 428.

. I . Ibicl., Vol . V 1':I

5. 1,ct tcrs o f Sw;imi Vivckannnda, May 1976 13.328

6. Thc complete works of Swami Vivckanatlcla A c l v i ~ i t ; ~ Ash~-alnil I . Vol. VIll Dec. 1959, p.306 - 307

7. Ibid., Vol. 11 Sep. 1964, p.224

8. Ibid., Vol. V1 Oct. 1963 p.357.

9. Ibid. Vol. I11 Sep. 1964. P. 317

l0.lbid. Vol. V April. 1964. P.52

1 l . l l ) i ( l . , Vol. lvp. 4 7 8 - 480.

13.l<aLha Upanishcd 5 - 15

14 .Lcct urcs from Colombo to Almora, Aclvaila Asl~l -u~i l :~ , 1002. 1'.

156 - 157.

15.Ibid. p. 164.

16.ll1id., pp. 167- 168.

17.My Master a s I saw him, Nivedita sister. p.47

1 S.'l'l~t- t.o~nl~lt.tc. wo~- l<s o f S w l ~ ~ n i V i v c l < a ~ ~ u n d ~ r Vol. 11 13.300

19.1hid. Vol. 111. p. 154. (1970)

20.Lecturcs from Colombo to Almora. AVanta Ashrama, 1992,

p . 2 5 2 .

2 1 .Il,itl:, p.25'2.

22.1bid., p. 144.

2 3 . M y India, The India Eternal, Sri Rama Krishna Mission

Institute of Calcutta. 1997, P.20.

24.The complete works of Swami Vivekananda Advaita Asharam.

Vol. I1 1964 p. 105.

25. Lectures from Colombo to Almora. Advita Ashrama, Mayavati

'l

27.'i'hc Complcte Works of Swami Vivckananda, Vol. 11, pp. 5 1 1 -

512.

28.1bid.) Vol. 11 J u n e 1963 p. 51 1 - 512.

'LO. l i ) i t l . , Vol. IV. 198'3, p. 372.

30.Ibid., p. 245.

. '?l .l l)i(l., Vo l l 1 1 ) . l5

32.Ibid., Vol 11 April 1'370 p. 225

,

33.Ibicl., p.302

34.Il)id., Vol. V p.257.

35.Ibid., Vol. VII. p. 148

36.Ibid., Vol. IV p. 304

37.Ibid., Vol. I p.26

38.Ibid., Vol. I1 p. 389.

39.Ibid., Vol. I. p. 263.

40.1bid., p. 9 1

4 l . l hid., Vol. V p. 394.

~ l : ? . l l ) i ~ l . , Vol . I l l . 1 ) . :?,l:?

43.lbid., Vol. I 1 p. 15 -

44.Ibid., Vol. IV p. 447

4S.ll)id., Vol. IV pp. 479 - 480.

46.1 bid., Vol. VII. p.58.

47.Ibid., Vol. V. pp. 257 - 268.